Filled Under: homeschool musings, journal
Homeschool Regrets- looking back
Overall, I am happy about our homeschool experience. But there are still some nagging regrets. Basically, when we started out there were some things that I just assumed would happen, but they just never did. They are:
Travel: We did get to Los Angeles, and SanFrancisco and to the Georgia Coasts and parts of Florida but we had hoped that since we were homeschooling, we'd get to see more of the country and even get overseas, two things stopped us.
- Scheduling. Our schedule was not as flexible as we thought it would be. Because the kids were in a homeschool program that met weekly, our lives weren't as flexible as we thought it would be.
- Money. They economy went screwy so flying a family of four around the country went from something that we didn't think twice about to something we didn't even think about. You never know though. Maybe we can squeeze in a big trip this year and get a good deal on flights to Sydney Australia or scrape up the money to go on the European trip that the homeschool program has scheduled over spring break.
More relaxed approach: I never did get over my own educational training. I went to Catholic school from 2nd to 8th grade after getting pulled out of Special Ed in public school because I never belonged there. Then I went to our local public school. I was a B+ student in high school, and tortured myself over getting the best grades I possibly could. Then in college, once I got the hang of things, I was a B student, also more focused on grades than life enjoyment. While I didn't emphasize grades with my kids, I did emphasize doing you best at all times and I held onto a mental checklist to make sure they didn't have any holes in their education. Interestingly enough, when I decided to have my daughter's homeschool portfolio accredited, I found that I was harder on my kids (academically) than any teacher or school would have been. She was given a lot more credits than I had issued for the work she completed. For example, I had the kids doing what I decided was a 1/2 credit of Spanish a year.... I felt that foreign language needed more work and time. The assessor re-interpreted it as a full credit for each year. The good news in this is that people shouldn't think for a minute that homeschoolers give their kids a less stringent education than public schools. More good news is that my daughter's Senior year will be more relaxed.
Field trips: Not being more relaxed (see above) kept us from doing as much experiential learning as I would have liked to. The few field trips we did take were so awesome, I think it is plain silly that I didn't do it more. We did do the following:
- Nutcracker
- Bodies, the exhibition
- Titanic, the exhibition
- Tybee Island and Savannah Forts
- Various Ballet performances
- A couple homeschool plays
- The Atlanta Aquarium
- Civil War Reinactment
- Martin Luther King Museum
- A couple science talks
- Midnight space observatory
- La Brea Tar Pits
- Local Children's art museum
- Science Museum in Richmond VA
- Botanical Gardens
- Mountain Climbing and Skiing in Tennessee
- Tennessee Aquarium
Most of these were done in the first 5 years. The last 5 years have been more sparse.
Don't think I am beating myself up though. We did get alot accomplished that was probably more specifically geared to my kids needs, with my daughter involved in Theater and my son involved in theater tech and computer programming.
I wrote this more to point out that I feel I could have been more flexible in our homeschooling and am encouraging you to keep spontaneity in your homeschooling and find more room for Travel, for field trips, and to RELAX.
free readings
Home Solution
Real Estate Financing
Lucepedia
Sports and Fitness
Train Now
Business Economy Global
auto car loans
car loans insurance
Health Information
how to prevent diabetes
Best Credit Cards
Cheap Wedding Dresses
Small Business Finance
Systems Body Health
Home Improvement Services Guide
Android Apps and Games
fashion design
Alcoholism
Android Phones
Board Games
Cheap Tickets and Vacation Packages Online
Prevent Child Obesity
Prevent Premature Ejaculation
Labor Lawyers
Home Interior Design Ideas
plumbers and carpet cleaning service
diet and slimming
Beautiful Picture
Doctors Dental Care
music video art
BurningPedia
Guide Planning Home Improvement
Beauty Cosmetic
Web Development Company
lawyer requirements
Books On Children Education
security innovation work
iPhone and iPad Turkey
The Medical School
Barbecue Electric
The Linux Documentation Project
Mental Health Care
New Car Buying Guide
House Curtains
Dentist
All System Education
iPhone Specifications
Cloud Trading Strategy
mortgages and loans
Pharmaceutical Info Online
Application Service Provider
The Masterchef
Business Service Delivery
Arts and Entertainment
Pokerstars Real Money
The Masterchef
Electric Motors
Gadgets Technology
Casino Zone
Small Business Solutions
Home Advice
Fashion Design Clothing
Adventure Games
Health and Fitness
Hospital Equipment
Plan Life Insurance
public transportation services
Prevent Premature Ejaculation
Best Professional Carpet Cleaning
Web Hosting
Vehicle Emissions Inspection
Drug Abuse
Collection Travel Agency
Medical Herbs
color vision casting
Aromatherapy Tips
community film
Cardio Tips
Top Best Home Improvements
Article Marketing
Colon Cleanse Tips
Terms and Conditions of Sale
Products for Treating Acne Scars
Natural Beauty Products
Seo Web Marketing
Business Prospects Trade Online
Tool House Cleaner
Bathing Equipment
Financial Solutions Credit Loans
Business Insurance
Best Supplements
Online Affiliate Marketing
Web Design Jobs
Online Business Degrees
Travel and Leisure Hotel
Business Online
Payment Processor
Women Management
Criminal Law
Marketing Product
Webdesign
Transportation Services
The Marketing
Business Prospects Trade Online
Shop bed furniture
free movies online
Direct Hardware Supply
Free Download PDF
Technology Ipad
doctors Specials
Medical Dictionary
Legacy Landscape
Bank South Pacific
Carpet Cleaner
Best Internet Business
Seo Web Marketing
Doctor Healthy
Doctors Diet Program
Health Benefits of Drinking Water
ups pills drugs
Best Supplements
dynasty fine jewelry
Ceramic Floor Tile
Online Business Degrees
Property Residential and Commercial Real Estate
All About Medical Bankruptcy
Prevent Child Obesity
Handbag and Shoes
Education of Children
physiotherapy school
Cheap Airline Tickets
Healthy Life
PET online Interzoo
Rehabilitation Center
electric hybrid vehicles
Baidu Software Center
Automotive Advertising Agencies
Health and Care
Virtual private network
Student Education
Technosound
Information network energy sources
excel archives
Classic Car Restoration
Defense Audit Banking
Travel and holiday
Forex Trading Jobs
0 comments:
Post a Comment